USA Metal Recycling Receives Permit in Joplin, Mo.

The city council of Joplin, Mo., has given unanimous approval to USA Metal Recycling to continue operating a scrap metal recycling facility in that city.

Tom Smith, a co-owner of USA Metal Recycling, headquartered in Lowell, Ark., says the company had been operating at the site for more than six months but inadvertently failed to obtain a special use permit. However, the 12-acre site is zoned for heavy industry.

The company’s first request to obtain a special use permit was denied by the city’s planning commission. USA Metals then requested a public hearing in front of the Joplin City Council. The Council tabled a hearing and action on the request at its June 4 meeting. Smith says the company sought and held a meeting with a number of people who were in opposition to the scrap metal yard in early June.

Following the meeting, Smith says that the company agreed to a number of changes to its operations. Some of the changes included:

• Installing an 8-foot fence;
• Limiting the business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday;
• Providing a list of company contacts to neighbors in case issues crop up; and
• Intalling security cameras.

Smith says the company is determined to be a good neighbor. The company also will be pouring concrete throughout the yard, which should significantly reduce the level of dust generated. “We will be putting in a baler and some other equipment as part of a $2 million investment we will be doing at the site,” Smith notes.

The plans call for the facility to be used as a feeder yard for USA Metal’s Lowell plant, which includes an auto shredder. The company presently has eight yards, although Smith says the company expects to have 12 scrap metal yards in operation by the end of 2012.